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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23638363">A Family of Four</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReallySoMuch/pseuds/ReallySoMuch'>ReallySoMuch</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Gen, How Do I Tag, Look people This is pure self indulgence, My First AO3 Post, Not Canon Compliant, Probably ooc, Stereotypical bad orphanage, There is no schedule. I am in hell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:13:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,276</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23638363</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReallySoMuch/pseuds/ReallySoMuch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of four very different students and the bonds of choice that bind them. AKA, Maki adopts three siblings.</p><p>(I wrote half of this like a year ago, so be prepared for style changes. Also, Tem, if you find this, I'm sorry, but it's just going to be the four of them.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Found Family? - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first time she met him, Maki was only five years old.</p><p>She’d already known that children came and went from the orphanage all the time, even at such a young age. So when she was introduced to the blue-haired boy, just over half a year younger than her and about a head shorter, she expected him to vanish in the next few weeks. He was exactly what parents typically wanted; young, quiet, cute, with time to grow closer into a real family. Still, she played along to the adults’ plans, talking with him and becoming his friend, and inviting him to join her when she played house.</p><p>She knew, even then, that they had something special. Something beyond the simple friendships of the other orphans. The signs of that something were obvious, though she didn’t know what that thing was. Signs like how she couldn’t stop herself from giggling when he muttered a quiet joke under his breath, or how she’d defend him from the worst children who dared to try and make fun of him. Signs like how he couldn’t sleep without Maki holding him and leaving the lights on, or how he would sometimes wake up screaming and unable to calm down without her hugging him. It was like he had latched onto her for some reason, and she wasn’t sure whether she wanted him to let go.</p><p>After a year passed, Shuichi Saihara- the boy who trembled at the slightest aggressive noise- still hadn’t been adopted, and Maki knew something must be wrong.</p><p>It had come close a few times. So many parents had been just about ready to sign the paperwork, only to leave an hour later. Maki tried listening in with him a couple of times, but even together, they couldn’t quite figure out what “Pee-tee-ess-dee” or “Ank-zie-eh-tee” meant.</p><p>Shuichi, in his shaky, quiet voice, had said maybe it was because they were scared of the shadow man that broke into his uncle’s house before he was brought to the orphanage, and to their young minds, it made the most sense out of any options.</p><p>Despite their agreement, though, Maki never fully understood. She never got why Shuichi was brushed aside for other kids, ignored so completely. To her, Shuichi wasn’t any different from the others. Sure, she took care of him, and maybe he was a bit more clingy than most, but still. It didn’t matter, though. She wasn’t complaining, and neither was he.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Two years later- when Maki was seven and Shuichi was six, and both had already grown out of the illusions of parents and adoptions- he showed up again. Kokichi, with grape purple hair that was matted and dirty and twisted at the ends, and with one less tooth in his mouth than last time. His favorite checkered bandana was tied like a pouch in his hands, and he marched with his head held up and his chest pushed forward like he owned the entire world.</p>
<p>Kokichi Ouma, as that was the name he gave himself, was always in and out of the orphanage. It wasn’t that he was adopted often; rather, whenever he was bored of being shoved around by the caretakers and dressed up every Sunday, he left. He’d run away from the orphanage and be gone for no less than two weeks. Maki had only heard of him distantly at first, but he’d been there as long as she could remember. And only after Shuichi arrived, he began to nose himself into their little friendship.</p>
<p>As his presence increased, she found herself beginning to worry about him whenever he went on those trips. Or she did at first, anyway, but he always came back, his head filled with new stories of the outside world and his hands filled with precious things, and she could find it in herself to trust him to be safe.</p>
<p><br/>
</p>
<p>When he’d gotten back this time, the first thing he did was proudly march up to where Maki and Shuichi were helping tend to a group of children- because wherever she was, Shuichi was always only a step behind. He proclaimed his presence with an obnoxiously loud “Nishishi~”, nearly making Shuichi scream and starling the younger kids. After a brief laugh, Kokichi made small talk, winking and whispering to them both conspiratorially about a surprise.</p>
<p>Once the younger children had been waved away and it was just the three of them, Kokichi had dragged them up to Maki and Shuichi’s room, and carefully untied his bandana on the floor. The checkerboard cloth fell away revealing three fist-sized brownies, all dry and crumbly. Wholly unappetizing, but a treat like this was always something special in the orphanage; no wonder he had waited until they were alone. He shoved two of the brownies into their hands and beamed at them.</p>
<p>“Surprise! It’s my birthday! I’m six now, too!” He’d cheered, then shoved the third into his mouth, chewing as he talked around it. “You guys gotta celebrate with me! C’mon!” As Maki gratefully worked through the chocolate treat, Shuichi hesitated, nervous as always. He regarded the treat in his hand carefully, then tried to hand it back to the other boy.</p>
<p>“Maybe you should give this to one of the other kids. I mean, I don't really know if it's fair for me-"</p>
<p>“Nope!” Kokichi cut the thought off with a sudden near-yell that made him flinch hard. Before Shuichi could even recover enough to form a protest, Kokichi spoke up again, though quieter this time. “That’s for the one and only Shumai! It’s my birthday, and my present to myself are those! So don’t go giving away my present now; Just enjoy it!”</p>
<p>Shuichi looked completely confused, but he nervously took a bite from the dessert anyway, and Kokichi grinned brighter, tucking his arms behind his head.</p>
<p>Maki had never seen anyone else even try to dance around Shuichi’s hesitations like that, much less do it so well. It had only been the two of them for two long years, long enough for her to see Shuichi as something like a little brother, and she’d always been happy in the limited company. But now, suddenly, she could see the room in their little makeshift family for a purple-haired boy who always ran away and couldn’t ever sit still.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><i>They</i> started showing up more often when Shuichi had just turned seven. Pairs of odd men and women that made all of the children seven years and older stand in a line and be absolutely silent for far too long.</p><p>They would watch wordlessly, inclining their heads this way or that, occasionally humming or tapping a finger to their lips. It wasn’t too different than how some other adults decided on who to adopt, but something about them made Maki uneasy.</p><p>Shuichi always stood near her when they arrived. She had a feeling he could sense the same thing as her, judging by how he nervously grabbed at her hand. She almost wished he could put a name to it- Whenever he got over his shyness, he was better at putting things together- but he was too nervous to while they were able and likely to come back. Still, she didn’t especially care why the people made her uneasy as long as they kept their distance.</p><p>After what would feel like a small eternity, the visitors would point out one of the children. Then, they would drag their selection out to a dark car while the usually grumpy pastor would wave them off with visible glee, and the other kids would be released for the day.</p><p>Normally, Kokichi was missing on those days, but whenever he wasn’t, Maki was pretty sure she’d seen him watching from the hall’s shadows. After it was over, Kokichi would drag the two up to their room and make them stay until someone came to bother them, grumbling all the while about how the whole thing was a waste of time. Shuichi pointing out that he didn’t have to wait for them was met with a snort and brushed off.</p><p>The entire event didn’t happen too often, maybe once every month or so, but the trio unanimously found it suspicious. Even more so after Shuichi noticed the same pair of adults a month later, without the little girl they’d adopted.</p><p>There was nothing physical that Maki could find to group the people together on, but her brothers' agreement was more than enough for them to label the discomforting adults as a group. </p><p><br/>
</p><p>"Come on! Get up, Big Sis! Up, up!"</p><p>Maki looked up at Kokichi from her book, and sighed when she noticed Shuichi sitting on the floor behind him. Having caught her attention, the youngest grabbed her elbow and bounced excitedly. </p><p> "Come ooonnn! We're sitting on the floor tonight! I wanna talk about the weirdos!"</p><p>Kokichi had moved into their room sometime before the odd adults' visits became more frequent, and as long as he wasn’t too loud, Maki didn’t mind his presence. Of course, whenever he had bouts of insomnia, he’d make the other two stay up and talk with him until he could sleep.</p><p>More often than not, their insomnia driven late-night talks turned to the odd visitors as the subject.</p><p>Maki had only just gotten comfortable on the floor when Kokichi began to laugh. Without hesitation, he plopped himself onto her bed, pulled her blanket up to use as a makeshift cape with one hand and swung the other one wide with a bright smile.</p><p>"Nishishi! Now I have the upper hand! Bow to my superior intellect, peasants!"</p><p>She rolled her eyes as Shuichi whispered to her. "You knew he was going to do that, didn't you?"</p><p>"I had a feeling," she smiled lightly. At her whisper, Kokichi let go of the blanket and jumped off the bed.</p><p>"Hey! No hiding secrets from your king! Unless... Is this a coup?!"</p><p>"Of course it is," Maki deadpanned, and Shuichi burst into giggles as Kokichi blew a raspberry at the both of them.</p><p>After they were done joking around. "So, did you actually want to talk about the- what did you call them? The weirdos?" She raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Well, duh! The weirdos are <i>obviously</i> weirdos, 'cause they’re super weird!” Kokichi giggled, and Shuichi sighed. Maki would have been more upset by his apparent disregard if she wasn’t so sure he was giggling out of nervousness. “And I don’t like how they were eyeing my little brother last time!”</p><p>Shuichi blinked, then sagged, suddenly looking tired, “Kichi, we’ve been over this. I’m older than you.”</p><p>“Nope! I refuse! My poor baby brother could NEVER be older than me! Big Sis, tell him he’s wrong!”</p><p>Maki didn’t respond, instead just staring coldly at him until he flopped backward onto her bed with a melodramatic whine.</p><p>Shuichi sighed. “Either way, you’re right. They are weird. I know it's ridiculous, but…” He trailed off, glancing at the door uneasily, as if expecting someone to break the door down. It remained motionless, and he frowned deeper.</p><p>“Just say it, Shuichi,” Maki said, and he looked back to her. “If it’s really ridiculous, then it's out there and done with. And if Kokichi says anything, I’ll kick him out of the room for a month.”</p><p>“A whole month!? Big Sis, how could you be so cruel!” he wailed, jumping to his feet and throwing himself onto her back. She smacked his side lightly, and the crocodile tears vanished as he burst into giggles.</p><p>Shuichi chuckled lightly, then nodded to himself. “It's really nothing, I’m sure, but… their outfits seem familiar somehow, and I was just thinking… What if they’re behind my uncle’s death?”</p><p>The room dropped into silence for a moment as Maki blinked, turning the thought over in her head. He fidgeted slightly.</p><p>“Huh?! How- Wha- What?!” Kokichi babbled, and Shuichi flustered.</p><p>“I said it was weird.”</p><p>“No, that’s not what I meant!”</p><p>She hummed, eyes unfocused as she tried to piece his train of thought together. “How’d you come up with that?”</p><p>“I-I don’t know, but I’m almost sure of it. Maybe it's that… the outfits maybe? Or, their hair- No, that doesn't...” He ducked his head down, hiding his face with one hand and gesturing vaguely with the other. “I-I-I don’t know. It’s probably nothing. Forget I said anything.”</p><p>“Mmm, alright!” Kokichi jabbed a finger into his side, and he squealed. “So anyway! I think I’m gonna go out again tomorrow! I’ll probably be gone for a week, at least, buuuut, I’m gonna bring something really cool this time!”</p><p>“Ah, you’re going? Well, you should be careful...”</p><p>The conversation derailed, and later teetered out, and soon the boys were both asleep on one of the beds. As she lay in her own, waiting for sleep to claim her, Maki couldn’t help but think over the words again.</p><p>'<i>It doesn't make sense. But at the same time...</i>' she thought, before sighing into the room’s darkness. ‘<i>Whatever. I’ll worry about it tomorrow.</i>’</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>I've decided that if I can't be completely accurate to the story, I'm going to at least try to have a good time! Welcome back to self-indulgence!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The last of their little family appeared on the day after Maki’s eighth birthday.<br/>
Kokichi and Shuichi had spent her whole birthday helping her take care of the younger children, then convincing her to cuddle with them in her room until it was time for dinner. Truly, the power of their puppy dog eyes combined was devastating on her resolve.<br/>
The next day, she was woken up by Kokichi throwing himself onto her while she slept. If it weren’t for the earnest look in his eyes and the notable lack of Shuichi on his side of the room, she would’ve guessed he was just messing with her and gone back to sleep. Instead, she found herself scrambling to get dressed before Kokichi dragged her out of her room.<br/>
Outside, a small puddle of children were trying to peek around the corner of the hallway into the main room. When they noticed Maki and Kokichi, most of them scattered back down the hall or shifted over to make room for the older pair. Instantly, Maki leaned slightly into the room, just enough to see and hear whatever happened next. She faintly recognized Kokichi whispering with one of the others, but she filed that info away for later.<br/>
In the main room, one of the caretakers was introducing a girl with bandages wrapped around the top of her head to some of the others, including Shuichi.<br/>
She didn’t look particularly nervous or upset, unlike most of the other kids who got dropped off. Instead, she threw her head back with a loud cackle that made Shuichi suppress a flinch, and introduced herself as a girl genius.<br/>
Some of the other seven-year-olds immediately burst into laughter at her proclamation and she curled into herself suddenly, like she hadn’t been expecting that reaction. She almost looked like she was about to cry, a look Maki’d seen all too often. Before the tears could fall, though, Shuichi stepped forward and introduced himself, offering her his hand. Maki couldn’t help but smile as the new girl nervously took it.<br/>
And later, when the girl, Miu Iruma, ended up nervously sniffling in Maki’s room, she just sighed and shifted over so she could get under the covers. Shuichi had finally been able to sleep on his own about a half a month before that group started showing up, and if Maki were totally honest, she missed cuddling with someone. So it came to a wordless agreement, and Miu began to sleep over more often, curling up against her with a quiet mumble as the boys rested on the other half of the room.</p><p>“If you’re some kinda super genius, why’d your parents dump you here?” It had been less than a month since Miu arrived, and one of the kids who had laughed at her introduction was pestering her again.<br/>
After asking, some of the younger kids broke into happy giggles. Maki and Shuichi had been on cleaning duty nearby, sweeping dust out the back door, and they paused, looking up at the troublemaker.<br/>
“Wh-what? I-“<br/>
“And what was with those bandages anyway? Sister Josephine hated redoing them every morning; She complains about you all the time, you know!”<br/>
Sister Josephine, a caretaker from some far off country, had hated redoing Miu’s wraps, true; She hated it so much that she hadn’t done it after the first day, leaving it to Maki instead. Besides, Miu’s bandages had finally been undone for good a few days ago.<br/>
Regardless, Miu curled away from them at the accusation.<br/>
“I-I-,” she tried weakly.<br/>
Maki tightened her grip on the broom and started over towards the troublemakers, but before she could get there, a furious purple blur shot past her and took a place in front of Miu.<br/>
“HEY! SCREW OFF! WE DON’T ASK WHY YOUR MOM DUMPED YOU HERE, DO WE BASTARD??” Kokichi screamed at the other boy, who startled badly and looked hurt. One of the younger kids screeched, and the rest of the group scattered away. “No, we don’t! And now you’re gonna leave Miu alone, get it?!”<br/>
The boy’s face filled with tears, and he took off towards the pastor’s room, sobbing. Maki sighed.<br/>
“You’re going to get in trouble for using that word again, Kichi.”<br/>
Kokichi settled his hands behind his head and sent the cleaners a big grin. “Aw, is Big Sis worried about me? Sorry, Maki~”<br/>
“Y-you got in trouble for me?” Miu still looked like she was about to cry, but it was tinged with something like comfort.<br/>
“He hasn’t yet. We’re not supposed to use the ‘B’ word.” Shuichi spoke up as Kokichi giggled. “Kichi likes to, ah, bend the rules though.”<br/>
Kokichi beamed shamelessly. “You bet I do, Shumai! Bee~sides-” Kokichi winked cheekily at Miu. “He had it coming! I couldn’t let him hurt my little sister!”<br/>
“Little- hey, wait a sec! I’m older than you!”<br/>
“By what, a week?”<br/>
“She’s older than you by seven months, stupid.”<br/>
“Ouch, Big Sis is so mean!”<br/>
Shuichi smiled softly at the trio, and when Miu noticed, she flushed heartily.<br/>
“Wh-what are you smiling at, loser?”<br/>
“You didn’t react to him calling you sister. You’re part of our family.” The group went very quiet as they all glanced at Miu, who just stared back at Shuichi.<br/>
“W-well, maybe I didn’t react ‘cause I didn’t hear it!“<br/>
“Do you want to be part of our family?” Maki asked, blunt as ever. She tried not to feel too hopeful about the potential of a sister- especially Miu being that sister. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if she said no, but...<br/>
Miu was very quiet for a second, looking away from the three of them.<br/>
“It-it's fine if you say no, Miu,” Shuichi offered quietly, and Kokichi nodded along. “We won’t judge you any. Promise.”<br/>
Miu was quiet a second longer, before sighing. “It’s not that. I-I do want to-”<br/>
“KOKICHI!!” The pastor’s voice yelled from his office suddenly, and the four jumped. Without missing a beat, Shuichi shoved Kokichi towards the doorway of the main room, and the shorter boy took off running down the hall.<br/>
“Quick, start sweeping,” Maki said, handing Miu her broom, and turning to face the pastor’s door. He was always in a foul mood when he had to actually do something. Often, this led to him tearing into the first kid he saw not doing anything, and Miu cried easily enough as is.<br/>
There was a level of irony in being able to have a dead-beat dad while still being an orphan.<br/>
Regardless of the pastor’s rage, the four could always talk about family later.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If I made any grammatical or spelling errors, please feel free to point them out.</p><p>Comments and kudos are always appreciated. Thank you for your time!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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